The puja mandap

Conch players present episodes from mythological tales

Creative dance by a group from Calcutta

Odissi dance by danseuse Ileana Citaristi and her troupe

A dancer presents Karagam folk dance of Tamil Nadu Pictures by Sarat Patra

Puri, Nov. 24: A repertoire of dance forms from all over India was presented on the inaugural day of the 16th International Puri Beach Festival. Performances by well-known danseuses Rupashree Mohapatra and Ileana Citaristi were the highlights of the opening day.

The event began with a chorus song to invoke Lord Jagannath. It was sung by students of Singhari Shyam Sunder Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, Puri. This was followed by a performance by joda sankha players (or conch players) from Ganjam.

The sankha players — with a group of young and old artistes — climbed on top of one another and formed structures to create episodes from mythology such as the Hiranyakashyap vadha.

Dancer Rupashri Mohapatra performed the moving item of mahari, the temple ritual dance form of the Puri Jagannath temple. She began with a mangalacharan on kasturi tilakam dedicated to Lord Jagannath.

After this invocation, Mohapatra demonstrated, through a group dance with her disciples, the birth of Odissi from mahari.

The most touching item, however, was the abhinaya on sringara rasa. In this piece, a danseuse clad in a costume full of flowers played Radha while dancer Chandrika Rana played Krishna.

The recital was performed on the Gita Govinda song Bira bheshe go wherein Krishna is completely immersed in Radha’s love and wishes she felt the same for him. Choreographed by Mohapatra and sung by Achyuta Moharana, the dance piece got a rave response from the crowd that had assembled from all over the country and abroad.

“It’s amazing to see such a beautiful form of temple ritual dance. This artform should be propagated more,” said Kanaka Laxman, a visitor from Andhra Pradesh.

“I loved the costume which was full of flowers. And the expressions were so intense, it really created a serene ambience,” said Stefan Suchanek from Germany.

The artistes of Art Vision came up with a delightful performance Mahanadi… and the river flows on Ileana Citaristi’s choreography.

Based on the historical events that river Mahanadi has witnessed over centuries, the Odissi rendition was a tribute to the river believed to be the life of Orissa.

The recital by Citaristi and her troupe was a thematic presentation on the saga of the river that originates in Chhattisgarh and crosses various regions of Orissa before entering the sea.

The tale of Sabari, who waits for Lord Rama in the forest of thorns situated on the bank of the Mahanad, the story of Viswabasu, a tribal who worshipped Lord Nila Madhava in Kontilo, a hill inside the river, the maritime activities that kept Oriya traders busy in the past were all illustrated through Odissi in this piece.

The song was written by Devdas Chhotray while Laxmikant Palit composed the music.

Bhangra, dandia and African dance were some other highlights of the first day of the five-day festival.